Thanks to a $4.5 million check from the Texas government, San Diego-based software company Websense is moving its corporate headquarters to Austin, capital of the Lone Star State.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office announced Thursday that the Texas Enterprise Fund will send the cash to Websense, which in exchange will relocate 445 jobs to Austin and also make a to-be-announced $9.9 million capital investment. Websense, which opened in 1994, was purchased by Vista Equity Partners in June for $910 million cash.

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Perry has made trips around the country, including to San Diego, to tout Texas as a state with low regulations and no state income tax, while California is among the most costly states for businesses. In 2010, Petco — a San Diego-based retailer of pet products — got $3.1 million from the Texas fund to bring some of its operations to San Antonio.

“Texas is the nation’s leading example of creating an environment that allows job growth to flourish, innovations to thrive and families and employers to succeed,” Perry said in a statement. “Paired with our low taxes, smart regulations and fair courts, these TEF investments will help bring hundreds of jobs to Austin, and thanks to our world-class workforce, these employers know Texans are prepared to take on the diverse needs any company may have.”

Vista Equity, with $7.8 billion in assets, last year also bought San Diego-based fleet-tracking company Omnitracs from Qualcomm for $800 million cash, and events registration software company Active Network for $1 billion. That has led to speculation that those companies could be relocating. A call to Vista Equity's San Francisco office was not returned. Websense released a statement from CEO John McCormack but a spokeswoman declined to comment further, citing final due diligence in the deal.

John McCormack has been named chief executive of San Diego web security software firm Websense.— Websense

John McCormack has been named chief executive of San Diego web security software firm Websense.
/ Websense

"We are expanding our presence into Austin because it represents an energetic, high-technology hub that will further enable us to meet growing demand for our technology and better serve our global customer base," McCormack's statement said. "Our top priority continues to be exceeding customer expectations and protecting organizations from data theft and advanced cyberattacks."

Vista Equity, based in Austin, has a reputation for buying companies and moving them to Texas, said Mark Cafferty, CEO of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. Cafferty said nearly three months of efforts by the EDC to meet with the firm's local officials were not successful, but he also noted the organization would continue reaching out to Websense.

"Austin does have the closing dollars from Gov. Perry and does have limited regulation and ease of restrictions, and it’s Austin," Cafferty said. "We talk about the well-educated, smart young talent we have in San Diego and Austin has that, so the reality is that Austin has that and it’s got the benefits of Texas."

Cafferty said the EDC gets calls weekly from companies who ask about benefits the state can offer to compete with Texas.

"We do the best we can," he said, noting that the latest efforts are to get at the front of the line for the new California Competes credit.